Hunter’s POVI landed easily, springing to my feet and dusting off my trousers. I stood on the kerb beneath a streetlight, surrounded by a pale orb of glowing orange lamplight, and waited for the cops to catch up.As they got out of the car, I smiled at them. Thanks to the various kidnappers of the years, I knew pretty much all of the cops in the city. I would even consider some of them to be my friends. As they neared, I extended a hand. “Hi, Leo, my man!”He grabbed my hand and shook it enthusiastically. “Wow, Hunter, is that your wolf? He’s huge! But you have to tell him that speeding is illegal – as is chasing at speed.” He winced sympathetically. “I’m afraid I’m going to have to write you up.”I shrugged. “I get it. I’ll take your tickets, man – my lawyer can deal with them.”He nodded, his gaze fixed on his flipbook as he scribbled down a list of the laws we’d broken tonight. Oops.I carried on talking. “I’ve got stuff to attend to right now, Leo, so I’ve got to dash. Pass thes
Hunter’s POV‘Great,’ I mocked him, ‘you’ll be the first Alpha wolf to be arrested by the A.P.S.!”‘Come on,’ he whined, ‘I want to shift back! Unless, of course, you want to spend the night with a bunch of stray dogs – with fleas. Come on, come on, hurry up! If it weren’t for the fact that we’re forbidden to harm humans at will, do you seriously think I’d let myself be chased around by them?’‘But I haven’t got any clothes to wear! Do you want my naked picture to be on the front page of every magazine and newspaper tomorrow?’‘Oh my God,’ he groaned, ‘what am I going to do?’ He dodged a tranquiliser dart, spinning around in a circle. ‘Oh, Hunter, I don’t care! Please please please let me shift. Your nude photos have been seen by everyone anyway! The girls in our packs, they founded a group where they all share your nudey pics. They look at them, discuss them, and, you know… enjoy them.’My jaw dropped. I stumbled around to say something more articulate than a plain old what the fuck,
Hunter’s POVJane’s cranky voice and Carl’s bitchy words spilled out into the quiet of the dawn. I sneered at Reg, ‘See? This is what happens when you visit people, uninvited, at five-thirty a.m. We aren’t welcome here.’‘Don’t worry!’ Apparently, if we were close to his little Omega, nothing could bring my silly wolf down. ‘We’ll make it up to her. And by we, I mean you.’ He lifted his front paw and pointed at me.‘Me? How? With money?’‘Hunter,’ he sighed, ‘seriously? With all the women you’ve slept with over the years, you still don’t know what women want?’My brow furrowed. ‘What do you mean?’‘Is money all you can think about? What about your body, huh?’ He rolled his eyes. ‘Your relationship skills really are zero, buddy. But,’ he said smugly, ‘it’s okay, Hunter. I’m great at relationships!’‘Yeah,’ I muttered, ‘Julie clearly really likes you.’Before he could retort, Jane wrenched the front door open. She glared at me.‘See?’ I barked at Reg. ‘See what you’ve done to her? I to
Jane’s POVMy leg and ribs throbbed relentlessly, the pain sharp enough to make me worry that they were broken. Compared to an Alpha’s raw power, an Omega’s body was nothing more than a piece of paper. My body hurt – but nowhere near as much as my heart.I worried endlessly about my boys, even as darkness fogged the edges of my vision. I faded in and out of consciousness, the pain trying to force my mind to disappear in its wake, but distantly I thought of my boys’ fondness for Hunter. Would they be sad to see me thrown out by him? As I fought to regain consciousness, common sense smacked me almost as hard as Hunter had. It didn’t matter what they thought about Hunter and I – I just needed to know where they were, why I couldn’t hear them, and if they were safe.How would Ares react to seeing me like this? He was fierce and protective, but he also knew he couldn’t shift in front of so many people. Needing to know that they were okay, I managed to raise my head just enough to see.I
Jane’s POVI peeled my eyes open, blinking blearily into the unfamiliar confines of what appeared to be a hospital room. A steady beeping broke the silence; the air smelt too clean, too clinical, to be anywhere but. The mattress beneath me was slanted downwards, and as I followed its dip I saw Rose.I breathed a raspy sigh of relief. She was here; she was okay.And she wasn’t looking at me. Her gaze was fixed on her laptop, which I felt awfully sorry for. Her fingers were nothing but a blur above the keyboard, and as I came to I could feel its heat pooling through my duvet.“You’re awake?” she said, not bothering to glance over at me. “Thanks to you, I was stuck in the hospital for two days straight.”Despite her cold words, my gaze snagged on a bouquet of flowers at my bedside. “You got me these?” I murmured, reaching for the glass of water beside them.“Yeah, well.” She turned to me at last and gave me a wry smile.“I’m glad you’re okay, Rose.”She reached over and took my hand. “I’
Jane’s POVI forced myself to smile, trying desperately to stop my uncontrollable tears.“No, that’s not it.” Hunter frowned, seemingly overwhelmed. “My apology came from the heart, Jane, I promise.”“I need the antidote for your own good,” he went on. “Amy can’t die – at least not right now.”“Yeah, Amy is your Luna. I get it.” I sniffled. “She’s higher up the pack than me. Her life is worth so much more than mine. It’s me who should die!” I met his gaze unfalteringly, though tears carved my pain down my cheeks. “I’m sorry I’m not dead,” I spat.“No, that’s not what I meant. I’m doing this for you, not her. Amy’s death will bring you and your kids a lot of trouble.” He shifted in his seat, his eyes darting from me to the squeaky linoleum floor, as if he were uncomfortable with this conversation. Well – he’d been the one to start it; if he was uncomfortable, so be it.“I’m not afraid of trouble,” I said levelly, trying to hold his gaze, “I want her dead. She tried to strangle Ares.
Jane’s POV‘Oh my god,’ I breathed. ‘Ina?’A silver wolf had burst from within me. I stared down at her, completely dumbfounded. ‘What? Hang on – did you say Alpha? I’m an Omega. I’m Jane, and I already have a wolf. Her name is Nina, which is one more letter than yours…’ I shook my head. ‘Who are you?’‘What? You already have a wolf? Then how can I be here for you? The Moon Goddess sent me here – well, okay, actually, I just got attracted to the smell of pizza and went over to smell it… but I’m sure that’s what she wanted me to! Now I’ve found you, my Alpha, and as you can see,’ she fluttered her lashes, ‘I’m just a beautiful Alpha she-wolf.’ She lifted her head to the sky and howled.‘But I… I did have my wolf, on the night I turned eighteen.’ I stammered over the words, so dazed and confused that I felt numb all over. ‘Her name is – was? – Nina. I’m sure it wasn’t you…’I was struck with worry about Nina. She’d been gone for so long. Had she got the wrong person and end up being som
Jane’s POV‘No!’ I roared.Ina leapt down, trying to grab my boys, but she was too late.Reg was faster. He jumped, grabbed them in his front paws, and then rolled onto his back, cushioning their fall. Protected by his thick fur, Ares and Owen were fine.It didn’t slow the furious beating of my heart, though. I kept picturing them falling, kept imagining what would’ve happened if Reg hadn’t been quick enough to save them. I shuddered.A beat later, I realised that Ina was falling. She smashed into the ground beside Reg, whimpered, and scampered to her feet. Reg rolled over and put the two pups beside S’s wolf. The Shadows crowded around us, blocking out the daylight on all sides.‘Sorry, Jane!’ chirped Ina.My heart sank. ‘For what?’‘I’m going to leave!’ With that, she pounced away in the opposite direction to the hospital. She slammed into one of Hunter’s Shadows, knocking them to the ground, and then her paws struck the grass fast and she pounded away. ‘Without your babies.’Reg wa